Flyers fume: Air India to stop Bengaluru, Mumbai–San Francisco flights from March; business travellers likely to bear brunt

BENGALURU: Air India’s decision to discontinue its nonstop San Francisco services from Bengaluru and Mumbai from March 1 has triggered confusion and concern among passengers who have made bookings, particularly for travel beyond Feb 28.

An AI spokesperson told TOI , “The airline has made changes to its North America schedule to better deploy capacity and manage rising costs linked to ongoing airspace restrictions.”


As part of the rejig, AI will significantly scale up its Delhi operations to North America. The airline will increase Delhi–San Francisco services from seven flights a week to 10, while Delhi–Toronto services will also rise to 10 weekly flights.

The airline said passengers affected by the withdrawal of the Bengaluru–San Francisco and Mumbai–San Francisco routes will be re-accommodated on alternative services or offered full refund. “Air India will seek to reinstate non-stop service from Bengaluru and Mumbai, should airspace restrictions ease,” the spokesperson added.

Responding to the news on social media, a passenger took to X, “I have flights booked on BLR–SFO (with return) in May and DEL–SFO (with return) on May 26. What do I do?”

Others questioned the rationale behind the move, noting the Bengaluru–San Francisco route is largely operated using Boeing 777300ER aircraft. “We booked months ago to avoid last-minute hassles — now, everything is uncertain,” said Nakul Tirtha, a Bengaluru-based tech professional.

Techies, business flyers likely to bear brunt

A other Air India passenger posted, ‘I have family travel planned for May. What happens to our return tickets?” An Air India official stated that they would reach out to the affected persons.

However, while the expanded Delhi services of Air India are expected to absorb some of the displaced demand, the withdrawal of direct flight connectivity to San Francisco from Bengaluru and Mumbai is likely to have an impact on the tech professionals and business travellers who rely heavily on non-stop links to the west coast of United State s of America.

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